House Approves $300M for State Aid Program

Governor Lee Expected to Sign New EV Fees Proposal into Law

By: TCHOA Director Brett Howell

On a 78-12 vote, the full House approved the Transportation Modernization Act, a sweeping piece of legislation that includes $300 million in new funds for the existing State Aid Road program, a sharing component between the state and local governments for new registration fees on electric/hybrid vehicles, and a $3 billion pool of funding to address congestion and a back-log of transportation maintenance needs at the TDOT level.

The bill now goes to Governor Lee for his signature, a formality since SB273/HB321 (Massey, Howell) was part of the governor’s initial budget proposal earlier this session. Funding for the legislation is already in the budget package, which is expected to be debated over the next few weeks ahead of the adjournment of the General Assembly. 

The tenets of this bill include major initiatives of TCHOA this session, as the association looked for both long-term and short-term funding solutions to address mounting county highway infrastructure needs. This legislation does both.

I want to thank all of the highway officials for the attention they have given this bill. This issue has been a focus for TCHOA for many years, and the conversations they've have had with their legislators and the Administration have definitely helped to get this proposal across the finish line. Thank you all for the time you have put into it, including the trips to the Capitol and the calls you've made. 

We will be talking more about the implementation side of this funding in the coming weeks, as we try to effectively use these much-needed funds as efficiently as possible.